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Guides: Catalyst 300: Theatre For Social Change

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  • Summary
  • Start Here: Plays
  • Social Issue Research
  • Databases
  • Articles from other libraries

Summary

An Enemy of the People, The Laramie Project, Sweat, and A Raisin in the Sun are four well-known examples of plays that have addressed social issues of their times. Drama has the ability to deeply engage audiences with and to create empathy for individuals involved in social quagmires in ways that policy papers or news articles cannot. After reading these example plays, your group will compose and perform a ten-minute play on CTL Day that addresses one or more of the following social issues. Your play will be accompanied by a research paper that analyzes your chosen issue and provides solutions to address it:

  • Truth vs. conformity
  • Gender inequality and sexuality
  • Rising housing costs and housing
  • discrimination
  • Public health
  • Rural or urban poverty

Start Here: Plays

Read the following plays. E-book versions are listed below. Physical copies are available in the library on the south wall of the Heinz-Franzen Center.

An Enemy of the People / Henrik Ibsen

The Laramie Project / Moises Kaufman

Sweat / Lynn Nottage

A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry

Social Issue Research

Gender Inequality and Sexuality

The Paradox of Gender Equality : How American Women’s Groups Gained and Lost their Public Voice / Goss, Kristin

Key Concepts in Gender Studies / Pilcher, Jane

Nurturing Boys to Be Better Men / Flais, Shelly Vaziri

Gender Equity and Equality / Moore, Rachael

Liberating Economics / Barker, Drucilla K., et. al. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Framed by Gender / Ridgeway, Cecilia L. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Mysteries of Sex / Ryan, Mary P. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Risky Lessons / Fields, Jessica (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

The Economics of Women, Men, and Work / Flau, Francine D., et. al. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Rising Housing Costs and Housing Discrimination

Housing Discrimination / Blake, Maxwell

Race, Housing, and Social Exclusion / Somerville, Peter

Public Health

Public Health Risks of Disasters / Hooke, William, et. al.

Public Health Law / Gostin, Lawrence

Public Health / Keku, Emmanuel

Rural or Urban Poverty

Rural Poverty Analysis / United Nations

Handbook of Research on Leadership and Advocacy for Children and Families / Greene, H. Carol

Rural Poverty in the United States / Tickamyer, Ann, et. al.

Urban Poverty and Health Inequalities / Hodgetts, Darrin

How the Rural Poor Got Power / Wellstone, Paul (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Rural America in a Globalizing World / Bailey, Conner, et. al. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Those Who Work, Those Who Don’t / Sherman, Jennifer (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

The American Way of Poverty / Abramsky, Sasha (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Worlds Apart / Duncan, Cynthia M. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Launching the War on Poverty / Gillette, Michael (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Rural Poverty in the United States / Tickmayer, Ann R., et. al. (In Heinz-Franzen Center)

Databases

The following databases are useful places to search for animal related articles. Contact a librarian if you would like more information on how to search for articles on your specific topic.

  • Academic Search Complete: Wide range of academic disciplines, including for scholarly and popular journals.
  • New York Times: Access to news and archival content from NY Times. If you run into a paywall, here is more information on how to sign up.
  • ProQuest Research Library: Includes both popular and scholarly periodicals covering a variety of subjects, with over 3300 titles available in full text.
    ProQuest Social Science Journals: Social science topics.
  • EdX Environmental Studies courses: Free online courses covering topics such as environmental science, natural resource management, environmental policy, civic ecology, pollution control, water treatment, and environmental sustainability.
  • NASA Earth Sciences Division: Browse resources, articles, data, and more from NASA’s Earth Sciences Division.
  • Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Explore updated, reliable articles on environmental science-related topics here.

Articles from other libraries

If you cannot find a full-text version of the article you need, request it through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is a free service that allows you to borrow books and articles from other libraries. Find answers to frequently asked questions about ILL here.